Dealing With Death
by Luzerfairy
Summary: A fanfic about how Faye Valentine deals with Spike Spiegel's death.


After Spike's death Faye left the Bebop. She couldn't help it there were to many memories that hung in the air on that ship. She tried to stay there but was always slipping in and out of reality constantly being hospitalized. She didn't want to live that way. She talked to Jet about it and he understood saying he and Ed would visit her when she got settled into her new home where ever that may be. Just as Spike went on a suicide mission to the Syndicate Faye always went on missions of her own not caring if she lived or died.

Inside her heart that was fragile and just beginning to heal when Spike had left shattered into nothing. Faye no longer felt pain, no longer felt love, no longer felt anything. She Knew now what Spike had lived with for so long and just wished she told him how she felt about him. Maybe if she had spoken up he'd still be here. Faye blamed herself for Spike's death always coming up with new ways to blame herself. She had so many she could start writing them now and not finish for months.

Faye sat inside the Redtail looking around at the constant darkness of outer space. She was staring with a far-off look in her eyes at one spot. There used to be a bright star there that always filled Faye with hope when she looked upon it, now there was nothing only a dark smudge as if it was never there. She sighed and rested her head on the dash of her ship. She was looking for a planet to live on but hadn't found one as of yet.

Though she constantly searched she always was drawn back towards Mars. She didn't know why she was but that's how it was. Finally she found a house on Mars it wasn't grand by any standards but it was big enough for Faye with five rooms a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, living room, and a spare bedroom. The house was located on a tree lined street and was an off white color. The yard was a small patch of dead grass with a few scraggly trees.

Faye lay in her bed thinking of how she still had to unpack many of the boxes of stuff that Jet had given her as a way to start out with a new house. She closed her eyes remembering everything that happened the night Spike left.

Flashback

Faye pointed a gun at Spike's head.

FAYE: Where are you going? Why are you going? You told me once... that the past didn't matter... You're the one who's tied to their past!

Spike leaned close to Faye and stared straight into her eyes.

SPIKE: Look at these eyes. One of them is a fake, because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I have been seeing the past in one eye, and the present in the other. I had believed that what I saw was not all of reality...

FAYE: Don't tell me things like that... You never told me anything about yourself! Don't tell me stuff like that now!

SPIKE: I thought I was watching a dream that I would never awaken from. Before I knew it, the dream was all over.

Spike continued to walk away.

FAYE: My... memory came back.

Spike stopped.

FAYE: But... nothing good came out of it. There was no place for me to return to... This was the only place I could go back to! But now... Where are you going! Why do you have to go! Are you telling me you're going to just throw your life away!

SPIKE: I'm not going there to die. I'm going there to see if I really am alive.

Spike walked away. Faye fired all of her rounds into the air.

End Flashback

Just thinking about what had happened brought tears to Faye's eyes. There was so much she should have done to stop him, so much they could have had together but the stupid lunkhead had to go off and get himself killed. Life just wasn't fair there was much left for Spike to do but in one night everything had changed. Faye blinked back her tears and swung her feet to the floor. She stood and walked over the icy floor to the bathroom. She sat down on the edge of the tub holding a blade to her wrist. It wasn't like Faye to do something like this but Spike was dead this was the new Faye the less outgoing Faye.

She quickly pulled the blade across her wrist watching as a deep gash appeared leaking blood. The blood dripped from the gash down the palm of her hand dripping off her fingertips into the tub. Faye leaned against the wall looking at what she had done she turned the water on and watched as the blood was washed down the drain. She feebly walked over to the medicine cabinet to get bandages and fell from queasiness. While falling she hit her head on the sink causing her to blackout.

On the other side of the bathroom window stood a man who was 6'1" , had green bushy hair that never seemed tame, and a pair of mismatched brown eyes. He was looking in on Faye and when he saw her fall he sprinted into the house not caring who saw him. He leaned down over Faye and carefully picked her up in his arms. He noticed the blood pooling around her and set her down to clean it up and retrieve bandages. He set Faye down on her bed and bandaged up her wrists. He stepped back and looked at Faye again, there was something about her, he knew he must've seen her before.

He couldn't remember anything not even his own name but as soon as he laid eyes on Faye he knew there was something she must've known about him. He was too scared to actually come out and tell her he needed her help, but she had to have known him, she had his picture. The man in the picture had a more arrogance and was holding a cigarette but it had to be him. When he saw she was safe he left the house.

The sunlight shown through the uncovered windows blinding Faye awake. She sat up groggily as she normally did. It was then she recalled what had happened the night before.

Flashback

Faye sat up in her bed and went into her bathroom where she proceeded in cutting her wrists. She was going for bandages when there was suddenly nothing…

End Flashback

That's where the memory ended. She tried really hard to figure out what could've happened but kept drawing a blank. After a few minutes her stomach growled alerting to the fact that she was hungry and needed food.

Faye stood up and brushed her short purple hair till it shined in the sunlight. She then put on a pair of loose fitting jeans and an oversized yellow shirt. She inhaled deeply taking in the scent of Spike. She lifted the sleeve of the shirt and inhaled again snuggling closer to it. She sighed after Spikes death Jet had allowed her to keep Spike's clothes knowing she was heartbroken about the death.

Faye left the house after getting dressed and went in search of a restaurant for breakfast. She came across a small diner on the end of the street. She walked in and could smell delicious eggs and sausage cooking. She sat down at a table when a waitress appeared and asked what Faye what she was having. Faye replied, "I'll have eggs and sausage please." The waitress nodded and went to get the food. Faye sat at her booth looked around noticing all the men staring at her. She was used to it by now because she always got stared at being the beauty she was. The waitress returned with the food and Faye ate it all. She stood leaving money on the table and left to go shopping.

Faye walked down the street and passed some young kids who were tormenting a small dog. The dog had black and white fur with two different eye colors black and brown. Faye walked over to the group of kids and yelled, "Hey! Get away from that dog!" The kids turned around and Faye realized it was a group of drunken men. They leered, "You need to mind your place woman else were going to have to teach you a lesson." Faye inwardly groaned not wanting to fight but pulled out her gun none the less. "Fine moron's let's have some fun." One man lurched forward but before the man could do anything or Faye could fire her gun a man ran forward and kicked the drunken man in the face sending the man spiraling backwards. The other men saw this and ran away leaving Faye to stare at the man who had saved her. It's Spike! Was Faye's first reaction then she got worked up over having to actually see him alive. How come he didn't come back to the Bebop he was supposed to be dead. The man turned around and walked towards her.

Faye asked, "Spike…," her voice was barely above a whisper but he heard it anyways. The man stopped in midstep and his eyes closed unbalancing him and sending him crashing backwards onto the pavement.

Flashback

A rainy street. A thin, puffy-haired man named Spike Spiegel smokes a cigarette. A rose falls into a puddle. A shoot out in a dark building. A wicked smile.

End Flashback

What is happening? Who is this Spike…?

Flashback

An old fishing ship called the Bebop flies through hyperspace. Spike practices martial arts in the dark. A brawny, bald man named Jet Black tosses bell peppers in a wok.

End Flashback

Who is this Jet…?

Flashback

SPIKE: Hurry it up!

OWNER: Oh, fine.

She opens the case to discover a puppy.

SPIKE: A DOG?

OWNER: A Welsh Corgi. It's cute, but it's everywhere. Not a particularly rare species.

End Flashback

A dog…?

Flashback

FAYE: Last game.

SPIKE: I'm not lucky nor am I nimble.

FAYE: Then what are you?

SPIKE: Generous.

Faye wins the hand.

FAYE: Blackjack.

SPIKE: Ya got me. I give up.

He holds up his last chip.

SPIKE: I'll take this as a memento.

Spike leaves.

FAYE: Huh? Wait a minute! Hold up!

Faye runs after Spike.

End Flashback

Faye…?

Flashback

ED: Listen! I found your bounty!

JET: What the...?

ED: Bebop! The real culprit in the satellite-jacking wasn't a hacker!

SPIKE: Since when do we have an interactive channel?

End Flashback

Ed…?

Flashback

The cemetery. Julia is pointing her gun at Spike.

JULIA: It was raining that day as well...

SPIKE: You didn't come because of the rain?

JULIA: I was supposed to kill you. That day if I had killed you I would have been free. SPIKE: So why didn't you? Why did you choose to be pursued?

JULIA: Why did you love me?

Julia puts down the gun and embraces Spike.

JULIA: Let's just run away somewhere. Truly escape from this world and go where no one else is... Just the two of us...

End Flashback

Faye watched as Spike began to thrash about on the bed. She leaned over him just to hold him and comfort him. She would be there this time she wouldn't let him go without a fight this time. She didn't she'd be able to handle losing him a second time.

Flashback

The rainy streets of Mars. Julia and Spike ride in her red convertible.

SPIKE: Keep going, and pass the place.

JULIA: What?

SPIKE: Someone might have gotten here already.

They pass Annie's store and stop a block away from it.

SPIKE: Wait here.

Annie's store. Spike enters.

SPIKE: Annie...?

Annie is sitting on a bench, holding a bleeding wound, dying. She struggles to speak. ANNIE: I told them that you weren't here. That you were already dead. I told them - SPIKE: Don't talk.

ANNIE: Vicious killed off the elders, they said. Everyone has lost sense of where they want to be... Just like kites with no strings.

Julia enters.

ANNIE: I see... you were able to meet Julia... I'm glad...

JULIA: Annie!

ANNIE: It's... rather chilly... today...

Annie slips away. Julia covers her with her coat. Spike retrieves artillery from the back shelf.

JULIA: You don't need weapons like that just to run away...

Spike is silent.

JULIA: You're going to go... I'll go with you. Until the very end, I'll be with you.

SPIKE: I'm sorry. I'm gonna make a bit of a scene.

The street. Julia's convertible explodes.

Annie's store. Gunfire enters from the outside. Spike shoots a thug and runs up the stairs to the roof.

SPIKE: This way!

Julia follows, turns and guns down another thug. On the roof, Spike spots a thug on the roof of the neighboring building.

SPIKE: Get down! Julia ducks.

Spike kills the thug. Julia stands up. Another thug shoots her a split-second before Spike kills him. Julia falls.

SPIKE: Julia!

Spike runs to Julia and holds her in his arms.

SPIKE: Hey!

Julia speaks her final words to Spike. Spike turns his head up, looking deep into the rainy sky.

The Bebop. Jet awakes from a nap on the couch and sees Spike.

JET: Spike, you...

Spike smiles.

SPIKE: Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving.

Jet serves up a plate of bell peppers.

SPIKE: The food you cook tastes horrible, as usual.

JET: For that, you sure are eating a lot.

SPIKE: Hunger is the best spice, they say.

Spike finishes the meal.

SPIKE: Do you know a story that goes like this? There once was a tiger- striped cat. This cat died a million deaths and was reborn a million times and was owned by various people who he didn't care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die... One day, the cat was a free cat, a stray cat. He met a white female cat, and the two cats spent their days happily together. Years passed, and the white cat died of old age. The tiger-striped cat cried a million times, and then died. It never came back to life...

JET: That's a good story...

SPIKE: I hate that story. I hate cats.

JET: That's what I thought.

The two laugh for a good while. Spike gets up and begins to walk away.

JET: Spike. Can I ask you one thing?

Spike stops.

SPIKE: What?

JET: Is it for the woman?

SPIKE: There is nothing I can do for a dead woman.

Spike continues into the hallway. Faye points a gun at his head.

FAYE: Where are you going? Why are you going? You told me once... that the past didn't matter... You're the one who's tied to their past!

Spike leans close to Faye and stares straight into her eyes.

SPIKE: Look at these eyes. One of them is a fake, because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I have been seeing the past in one eye, and the present in the other. I had believed that what I saw was not all of reality...

FAYE: Don't tell me things like that... You never told me anything about yourself! Don't tell me stuff like that now!

SPIKE: I thought I was watching a dream that I would never awaken from. Before I knew it, the dream was all over.

Spike continues to walk away.

FAYE: My... memory came back.

Spike stops.

FAYE: But... nothing good came out of it. There was no place for me to return to... This was the only place I could go back to! But now... Where are you going! Why do you have to go! Are you telling me you're going to just throw your life away!

SPIKE: I'm not going there to die. I'm going there to see if I really am alive.

Spike walks away. Faye fires all of her rounds into the air.

Mars, Red Dragon Headquarters. Spike enters and kills thugs left and right. He rides the elevator as far as he could. Facing off against one thug, he is shot in the gut. An elevator door opens and he spots Shin.

SPIKE: Shin! Where's Vicious?

SHIN: On the top floor. This way. Shin leads him up.

They turn a corner and Shin is shot by a thug.

SPIKE: Shin!

Spike kills the thug and goes to Shin.

SPIKE: Shin!

SHIN: Please defeat... Vicious... Actually... I wanted you to come back...

Shin dies. Spike runs into the main chamber. He opens the door and the room explodes, revealing the night sky. Vicious steps down from a large stairway.

VICIOUS: So you are finally awake. I told you before, Spike... that I am the only one who can kill you.

SPIKE: I'll return those words back to you, Vicious.

VICIOUS: Either way, we were destined to end up like this.

Spike runs up the stairway and the two clash weapons. Vicious cuts Spike twice and Spike shoots his katana out of his hand. Spike puts his hand on the katana and Vicious puts his hand on the gun.

SPIKE: Julia passed away... Let's end it all.

VICIOUS: If that's your wish.

They exchange weapons. At the same time Spike shoots Vicious in the chest and Vicious slashes Spike in the gut. Vicious falls. Blood spills from Spike's gut. He looks up into the brightening and recalls. Julia's final words.

JULIA: This is... a dream...

SPIKE: Yeah... Just a bad dream...

It is morning. Spike, clutching his bleeding gut, descends the stairway to meets a legion of confused, baffled and surprised syndicate members. Spike smiles and points his index finger at them.

SPIKE: Bang...

Spike falls.

End Flashback

Spike… I am Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter on the ship Bebop. I live with Jet Black, Faye Valentine, Radical Edward, and a Welch corgi named Ein. I loved a woman named Julia who was sent to kill me by a Syndicate I used to work for. I died fighting Vicious after Julia died and ended up dying myself that fateful night.

Faye is on the bed now holding the violently shaking Spike tears falling down her face whispering, "Spike you stupid lunkhead you can't die again on me not again. I can't handle losing you I love you! Please… please just stay here for me I need you!" Spike suddenly stops shaking and his eyes open and with one last gasp he mumbles, "I love you…" Spike's breathing stops leaving Faye sobbing over Spike's dead corpse. Faye leans up and kisses Spike's lifeless lips and pulls her gun out. She entwines her hand with his and places the barrel of the gun at her temple. She pulls the trigger BANG! Her body goes limp, her arm holding the gun falls onto Spike's chest. There is blood splattered all over the door, the floor, and the bed coating both dead bodies.


End file.
